Spotlight on Waukegan teachers strike

Waukegan’s teachers have authorized a strike and plan to walk out April 16. The Waukegan teachers union wants a 2.25 percent pay raise, retroactively effective into last year, plus step-and-lane increases, which average 4 to 5 percent in additional increases annually. The union’s demands would cost an additional $4.8 million to taxpayers. The school board...

Waukegan’s teachers have authorized a strike and plan to walk out April 16.

The Waukegan teachers union wants a 2.25 percent pay raise, retroactively effective into last year, plus step-and-lane increases, which average 4 to 5 percent in additional increases annually.

The union’s demands would cost an additional $4.8 million to taxpayers.

The school board has offered a 2.3 percent pay increase retroactive to last year – with no additional step or lane increases.

The board’s counter-offer will cost an additional $1.8 million to taxpayers. It has been rejected by the teachers’ union as insufficient.

It should be noted Waukegan teachers make an average salary of $57,000 for 188 days of work – equivalent to $78,000 for a full year of work. Click here for a look at all Waukegan teachers’ salaries.

Waukegan teachers contribute nothing toward their individual health-care premiums. The board is asking they contribute $10 a pay period. The union has rejected this demand.

Other benefits, such as early retirement, cashing out of sick days, hefty pension benefits and a bunch of other goodies would remain the same in this contract.

The union is asking for higher pay, all while Waukegan’s schools are drastically underperforming.

Six of Waukegan’s public elementary and junior high schools fall into the 10 percent lowest-performing schools in the state. Seven out of 10 students at these schools cannot read or do math at grade-level.

These poor results are happening even as per pupil spending in these six Waukegan schools has increased 42 percent in the past 10 years, when adjusted for inflation. More money is not a fix to Waukegan’s education problems.

Why is the teachers’ union threatening Waukegan families with a strike if they won’t fork over millions more in pay – all while the schools are failing their children?